Street-sprinkler



(No Model.)

J. RUPREOHT.

STREET SPRINKLER. No. 467,303. Patented Jan. 19, 1892.

ZZWZJAIA JOSEPH RUPREOI-IT, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

STREET=SPRINKLER.

QPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.,467,303, dated January19, 1892. Application filed Maroh 23, 1891. Serial No. 386,153. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH RUPREOHT, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Street-Sprinklers, ofwhich the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in street-sprinklers, and has forits objects to increase the area which may be wet by a single sprinklerand to more conveniently regulate the amount of water distributed overthis area. I attain these objects by the apparatus illustrated in thedrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of my improvementapplied to astreet-sprinkler, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the capor plug. Figs. 3 and 4 are a plan and elevation, respectively, of thecap or plug.

The tankA is provided with a distributingpipe B, extending from thebottom or lower portion of the tank downwardly, and then backwardly. Theend of this pipe is turned upwardly and screw-threaded. The flow ofwater through pipe Bis controlled by a valve 0, which is operatedthrough a series of connected levers c 0 0 the last of which is providedwith a foot-piece conveniently located to be operated by the driversfoot. A hollow cap or plug D, provided with a thread d, corresponding toand fitting the thread I) on the pipe, closes the end of said pipe. Thiscap or plug is made in a single piece of cup shape, consisting of theannular part which fits into or onto the end of the distributing-pipeand the end part which closes the open space. This cap or plug isprovided with a nut-head integral therewith, by which it may be turnedto adjust the effective width of the slot or opening or orifice (Z. Thecap or plug is also provided with a transverse slot or orifice whichextends into the interior of said cap or plug in a direction inclined tothe direction of the axis of said cap or plug, so that the edges of theslot are higher at the outer surface of the cap or plug than at theinner surface when the cap is in its normal position on the up-- turnedend of pipe B. The length and width of the slot are preferably greateron the inside of the plug or cap than on the outside thereof, and itsouter edges are sharp so as to prevent the water running down theoutside of the pipe. The pipe and the cap or plug are screw-th readed tosuch an extent that by turning the plug D the lower edge of the slotwill pass below the top edge of the pipe, and the lower portion of saidslot or orifice is closed. By this means the portion of the slot ororifice which is left elfective for the distribution of water may beeasily adjusted. A set-screw E passes through a threaded hole 6 near theend of the pipe and abuts against the plug to prevent it being rotated.When used ona street-sprinkler, the cap or plug should be set with theslot or orifice to the rear. WVhen several sprinklers are used onthesame Wagon, the caps or plugs should be set with their slots or orificesturned outwardly at such an angle that they will not both sprinkle thesame area. By directing the water upwardly at an angle it is distributedover a larger area than when it is squirted in a horizontal direction.By turning the end of pipe B upwardly the volume of water in said pipeflows in the general direction in which it finally issues through theslot or orifice d, so that the loss of pressure due to friction andchange of direction ofthe How is reduced to a minimum. The pipe B neednot extend vertically upward at its end; but as the distance to whichthe water is thrown depends on the angle at which it issues from theslot or orifice the cap or plug must be slotted in a direction tocorrespond with the upward inclination of the pipe at its end. Forinstance, if it is found more convenient to cut the slot at right anglesto the direction of the axis of the cap or plug the upturned end of pipeB should be inclined forward, so that the water will issue upwardly atan angle. In this last construction the pressure is dissipated by theincrease in the change of direction of flow from the tank to the end ofthe pipe and also by the sharp change of direction of flow at the pointof issue. If the end is inclined upwardly less than a right angle, thedirection of the slot becomes more nearly parallel with the direction ofthe end of the pipe and the axis of the cap or plug, so that the slotmay be cut through the head of the cap or plug; but in this case someother means of adj usting the effective width of the slot must be used,or interchangeable plugs with differentsized slots may be employed.

As these modifications are obvious from an inspection of theaccompanying drawings, I deem it unnecessary to illustrate themseparately.

As my invention is applicable to other purposes besidesstreet-sprinkling I do not desire to limit myself to the preciseembodiment shown in the drawings.

hat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. A tank having a distributing-pipe the end of which is turnedupwardly and screwthreaded, and a screw-threaded cap or plug fittingtherewith, said cap or plug being provided in its side with a slot ororifice, substantially as described.

2. A tank having a distributing-pipe the end of which is turned upwardlyand provided with a screw-thread, and a screw-threaded cap or plugfitting therein, said cap or plug being provided in its side with a slotor orifice whose external edges are higher than the corresponding inneredges, substantially as described.

JOSEPH RUPRECHT.

Witnesses:

E. J. WHITE, JAMES A. CARR.

